Before we had newspapers and journalists, we had poets. When all communities were small and tribal, poets were sometimes leaders and prophets. A prophet is a poet naming out loud the community’s pain. That is what some of the books, psalms and words of the Old Testament are. In today’s paper is a Bob Skeele poem about KeyBank closing their La Conner branch in April. It is his response to the letter they mailed customers saying that to provide better service they are moving to Mount Vernon. Wednesday, February 20, 2019

My list of grievances against our government is long, built over time, and well thought out. My biggest frustration might surprise folks, given all the illegal as well as unjust wars we have fought and the people wrongly harassed, spied on, murdered and imprisoned. Perhaps because it is so personal, intruding on me twice a year, I bristle and take umbrage. Daylight saving time. Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The trip, but not this editorial, was stalled by weather. Your role and participation are more important now.Since democracy never sleeps, get ready for your assignment. Thursday Mayor Ramon Hayes leads a delegation to the state legislature, taking part in City Action Days. Hayes 2019 commitment is gaining additional state funding for the La Conner regional library, perhaps matching the $500,000 secured by area legislators last yearWednesday, February 13, 2019

Just a few weeks ago, I was sworn in as a representative from the 40th Legislative District in the Washington State House of Representatives. I’m proud to be the first Native American woman in state history elected to this position and am looking forward to tackling some of the key issues facing our community.Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Here is a true fact: the Washington Street hill down to Whatcom has had more sleds than cars on it in the 10 days since the first snow of Feb. 4th. Did everybody but me know about the street closing for sledding? I learned about this from seeing photos in the Weekly News. Town public works staff put road closed signs with orange flags at Second and Whatcom that Monday, opened the street mid-week and closed it again Friday for the weekend. Wednesday, February 13, 2019

The three points raised in Bruce Elliott’s letter are incomplete to say the least. Please allow the La Conner School District (LCSD) and the Swinomish Tribe to jointly set the record straight.Wednesday, February 13, 2019